Mike,

Since you seem to be the Superchips man extraordinaire I have a question or two that I have been searching answers for now for too long.

1. Is there a MicroTuner for the '03 4.6 F150?

2. If so, do you guys carry it?

3. If not, when do you think it will be available?

4. What is the difference in the 02 to 03 ECM's?

Thanks for your time.

 

Mike has the microtuner for '03 4.6 liters. I've had mine for three or four months. I bought it from him. The difference in ecm is probably just the code number of the program.

 

Hi cgorris,

1.) Yes there is, & lots of 2003 owners are already using the Micro Tuner. We have that on our web site so you can see it 24 hrs. a day - just take a look on our web site over at www.TroyerPerformance.com - once the home page loads, click on "Shop" and that will take you to the Superchips section. From that point, enter the Superchips section by clicking on the link that says "List by Vehicle Type" - then select the FoMoCo applications, so you don't have to wade thru GM & Mopar stuff.

2.) Yes! In fact, we are the oldest distributor of the Superchips product line in America.

3.) None, basically. Now there are a few (very few) "mutant" late-built '03's that have a hybrid PCM, maybe 10% of the late 2003 F-150 production got those - but those aside, there is no difference from 02 to 03 as far as the EEC-V PCM is concerned.

Please feel free to give us a call to go over any of this or anything else performance related about your truck - our contact info is listed just below for your convenience.

 

Thanks guys! I appreciate the info. Most of the places that I looked for info on the Micro Tuner was showing up to 02. I guess they just haven't updated their site info. Well, now I know who I will be getting it from.

There is one tiny little problem though. I hope mine does not have the mutant genes your talking about Mike. It was one of the last to roll off the line in the KC plant. I found out this directly from Ford since the color it was painted (Burgundy Red Metallic) was only available on the XL Sport and Heritage and I wanted to know how mine came to be this color. So about 2 weeks before production end is when mine came off the assembly floor. I guess I will find out for certain pretty soon.

THANKS AGAIN!

 

About that "Hybrid" PCM. Is there a list of codes that reflect this PCM, or a different way of finding out if you had one? Should we care if we have one?

 

Hi cgorris, Linetest, etc.,

No, there is no list of computer codes, assembly line, production dates or anything else that can be used to determine in advance if yours is one of the few late-built 2003's that got the hybrid PCM.

I wrote a lengthy & highly detailed post on the other site - it's in that same thread where I announced this hybrid PCM being discovered during the final hardware beta testing of the new 1715. There I discussed in detail that it's completely random with no way to predict that in advance - Linetest, you know the thread I'm talking about - you might want to go back and read the more recent posts in that thread from the last few days to see mine, where I went over all of that in detail.

For those who want to inspect their late 2003 (like cgorris, or Linetest, or anyone else) to see if it has the hybrid PCM, it can be identified by the lack of a J3 connector (that is where a traditional Superchip module would attach) on the back of the PCM. Anyone who needs help with that can take a look at the how-to-install-a-Superchip article, there's a link to it here in the tech articles (or used to be) on this site - that article gives instructions on how to remove & disassemble the PCM in the late-model F-150/Expedition & you'll see exactly what the J3 connector looks like - it's simply about a 2 inch wide edge connector - so anyone can see if their late '03 has the J3 connector - if it's missing, then it's the hybrid PCM.

However, that is a mute point for anyone who will be using the 1715 Micro Tuner, as that issue is being taken care of in the new 1715 - so it's really a completely mute point for anyone wanting to use the new 1715 Micro Tuner once it starts shipping.

For cgorris, you may or may not have the hybrid PCM in your late-build '03 from the KC plant - and it's neat you got such a late build like that - as best we can determine at this point, only about 10% of them have it, and it's completely random. However, that is what Superchips is working on right now, making sure the new 1715 can properly communicate with the hybrid hardware - it still uses a more or less conventional EEC-V program file, so they feel progress will be rapid on it.

The bottom line is, the 2003 owners for whom this is realistically a potential concern are only those with late '03's with the hybrid PCM that want to use the traditional Superchip module instead of the new Micro Tuner - there is no J3 connector on this hybrid PCM, so those owners *can't* use a conventional Superchip module - they're darn few, and *that* is really the primary "group" of owners that is potentially affected by this. Those owners will have to use the Micro Tuner as opposed to a chip, and they'll be able to do that with the new 1715, very shortly!

 

Okay, my bad. If it was in the other posts somewhere, I already read it. It's remembering things when I'm over fourty that has become the problem.
Sorry, you do enough repetitive posts. I owe U some Q.

 

Mike thanks a ton for the info on the "MUTANT". I will check mine to see if I got hammered. I hope not.. Anyway I guess like you said it is a moot point anyway since I am going to go with the late release 1715 anyway. Although a S/C may not be too far off in the distant future so I may have to get a custom tune on the 1715 to supplement the S/C.

Anyway thanks again for all the info. It has been a great help!



Mike's da godfather of performance chips.

 

Hi Linetest,

You don't owe me a thing my friend, it is I who owe *you* - for several things, not the least of which was turning us on to what I feel is the very best chopped pork I've ever had in *any* country, in any state - and coming from an absolute Q fanatic like me, that's saying a lot!

It's also easy to miss a detail or two in such a long post - I mentioned that thread simply because I figured that you just hadn't had a chance to even see that latest post of mine with all that detailed info, as it was a very recent post - I remembered that you had participated in that same thread a little while ago, so I knew you knew which thread it was - I just figured you hadn't had a chance to read the latest, like a lot of others - that's all.

Have fun & talk to you soon!

 

Hi cgorris,

You're more than welcome - and if you do find you've got the hybrid PCM, by the time you do enough mods to actually require custom engine tuning to compensate, we'll probably find another alternative for you - like swapping out the PCM to a conventional EEC-V perhaps, if worst comes to worst.

There are so many mods you can do before you get to that point that you'll have access to plenty of performance - with the Micro Tuner & all the other mods you can do & still use the Micro Tuner, you can go a pretty good ways!

 

Thanks for the info Mike!